The Primal Hunter

Jake appeared in his mansion and didn’t hesitate to head to his lab to avoid conversations with both Vesperia and Meira. He felt drained from all the socialization and just wanted to unwind by himself.

Entering the lab, Jake took a seat on a chair and took out the item Villy had given him. The energy he had felt when he received it was similar, but it was only now he realized why. Because it was something he had seen before.

[Fragment of Akashic Awakening (Ancient)] – Infuse into a piece of equipment to attempt to awaken or amplify the Records within, upgrading the item to a maximum of ancient rarity. If the item is already of ancient rarity, it will try to amplify existing effects through awakened Records. Overall effects may be unpredictable. WARNING: Touching directly upon the Records of an item may make others related to the associated Records aware. As this is only the fragment of a token, chances of success are reduced based on the level requirement wished by the user. The lower the level requirement, the higher the chances.

Requirements: C-grade

Or at least very close to something he had seen before. It was practically identical to the item he had bought from Sultan around the time he first came to Haven, but this was only a fragment and not a true token. Jake wondered where the hell Villy had gotten such an item and why he had just popped in and handed it to him, but on second thought, why would he want to waste brainpower questioning a chaotic snake god over a good thing?

The last time he had gotten the token, he had used it to upgrade the rarity and level requirement of his boots, and seeing this second fragment of a token, Jake already knew what to do with it.

It was time to make his boots even better boots.

Compared to most other items that were hard to use, this type of item did not have any input from the user or even allowed Jake to affect the process. However, Jake wasn’t really worried. He felt like he was generally a lucky person, and the item said that it had a higher rate of success the lower the level requirement. Considering Jake just wanted a C-grade item with a level requirement of 200, it should be feasible.

And feasible it was. Jake took off the boots and used the fragment on them. His two worn leather boots easily absorbed the special energy released, and Jake instantly felt the change in their aura. Appearance-wise, they still looked like shit, but the description had been upgraded.

[Boots of the Wandering Alchemist (Epic)] – Boots once offered to an alchemist before setting out on a journey to experience the world outside at the behest of his master. Despite being made of simple leather, the Records of the ancient alchemist have left a deep mark on this item, allowing it to transcend many ranks. Further amplified by a Token of Akashic Awakening, these Records are now more prominent than ever, heightening their effects, although only a fraction remains displayed. Enchantments: +125 Endurance, +100 Agility, +75 Perception. Reduces stamina expenditure from all movement-related skills by a moderate amount. Increases sensitivity towards earthbound plants and natural treasures. Requirements: Lvl 125+ in any humanoid race

-->

[Boots of the Wandering Alchemist (Ancient)] – Boots once offered to an alchemist before setting out on a journey to experience the world outside at the behest of his master. Despite being made of simple leather, the Records of the ancient alchemist have left a deep mark on this item, allowing it to transcend many ranks. With every awakening, the Records within grow in power, the item improving in tandem to reflect its growth, even if many secrets within still elude you. Enchantments: +350 Endurance, +250 Agility, +200 Perception. Reduces energy expenditure from all movement-related skills by a moderate amount. Increases sensitivity towards earthbound plants and natural treasures. Requirements: Lvl 200+ in any humanoid race

Jake grinned at the description. It was very much the same item as before, with everything just getting improved. More stats across the board, with the most interesting new addition being to the movement-related skills enchantment getting better. No longer did it only reduce stamina consumption, but all energy expenditure. A damn nice upgrade for sure.

He put on the new boots and quickly sent Irin a message that she could scratch looking for any crafters or items to upgrade his boots. He also decided to make an agreement to go shopping in approximately a full day. All to give Jake some alone time.

Also known as alchemy time.

Jake spent the next day working on poisons and attempting to improve his craft after reaching C-grade. During his crafting, he felt like his control had increased more than expected, something he wrote off as from the ritual and the upgraded core manipulation skill. As with most things, there were overlaps in competencies, so he benefitted in other areas when he improved in one.

during this time but was just practicing for the actual crafting session he planned on having after he was done shopping for Nevermore and was just waiting

with was pretty much ready for Nevermore, they would likely go shortly after the announcement. Villy had even hinted at it maybe being an idea to bring the Sword Saint, Sylphie, and Fallen King to the ceremony. In part to introduce them as his party members and in part for political reasons.

too weak, and Jake did not want to drag them into a world they did not belong to.

the Malefic Viper came in handy. People would not believe his Chosen would give two shits about his own parents, thus making them useless to weaponize against him. On the other hand, people also wouldn’t kill them as they feared Jake could see it as a slight to his honor. Finally, considering they were defended by the Court of Shadows, it just made it doubly bad to

brother. As a Judge of the Court of Shadows, he was already a person of note, and Jake being close with his brother also wouldn’t be viewed as weird. Again due to the shitty reputation of the Viper. That Jake respected family who had shown they were

and she had sent him a reminder or two. By now, she clearly knew him enough to be aware he would potentially

picked out for them to visit. Cloak, bow, and necklace were the pieces of equipment they planned on addressing that day, with his second ring and, finally, his gloves saved for last. Jake still wanted to

on the dot as he spotted her walking out of the gateway in the entrance area of the mansion. She had gone to the effort of changing her clothes and setting her hair while Jake still had soot from going a bit too wild with his Alchemical Flame on a mushroom. Luckily for Jake, he had no sense of shame when it came to

showing interest after we left yesterday, including quite a few superiors who were practically shitting themselves at a

trouble,” Jake said apologetically, seeing how

and giving a sincere apology… I loved every second of it. The only thing that

so happy. Especially when she talked about the guy kneeling… she was practically salivating

thought succubi being sadistic was just a

as a surprise? Irin did like talking about leather shops, and she did recommend that one place the time he went shopping with Meira… yeah, he

that at least one of us can have a good time from getting

people would gladly form a line,” Irin smiled before teasingly adding

eyebrow for a few seconds before Jake

no fun, but sure,” Irin grinned, satisfied as she took out her token. “Want to

as how he used to eat all his vegetables first, he would do the shitty cloak before any of

as she infused energy into

a great

had managed to find a robe that wasn’t shit, and one Jake could actually see himself using for quite a while. The cloak itself was black as night and was

Incredibly durable to all kinds of attacks. Allows the wearer to meld into the shadows when they stand still or move slowly, masking their presence and all of their actions, including energies. Improved further if already dwelling in the shadows. When worn within the realm of shadows, the cloak will passively absorb energy to repair itself or assist

Must have touched upon the realm

something Jake had never seen before and made him wonder even more about that weird place. Jake could only use this item due to his Eternal Shadow skill, and he knew that actually connecting with this realm of shadow

also interesting it had no enchantments section, but Jake had the seller explain that was due to the peculiar nature of the cloak. From what Jake could understand, the descriptions of items were sometimes just a bit inconsistent, especially with items like this, and as the seller began to list off some of the endless reasons why they could vary, he honestly didn’t really bother questioning it more. The effects themselves were great, as it was effectively a cloak that functioned as a cloaking device, almost phasing Jake

like his Heart of the Alchemist turned out to be a lot

in a medium-sized pocket dimension found within the gem. Due to the nature of the gemstone used, living, non-sentient entities can be stored without harmful side effects in temporal

Wisdom, 150 more Willpower, and 100 more Intelligence was all Jake got out of spending what Irin called more than most late-stage C-grades had in funds. Jake did agree the price tag was big, but honestly, he didn’t care much about money anymore. He had spent most of his life